Following what turned out to be a no-empty-seat “Men’s Breakfast” October 7th at Fairwinds in Oro Valley, Arizona, was Wes Choc’s presentation on how he “hacked a military secret” while aboard ship heading from San Diego to Vietnam. This was a hands-on reproduction of folding papers again and again to create a paper sextant while explaining things like what the summer solstice and Tropic of Cancer mean to geographers. This tablet-paper sextant was then placed in various positions on a map of the Pacific to illustrate how he came to the conclusion that these ships were NOT heading directly to Vietnam. Using only three sheets of paper and a ruler, he showed how he became challenged by his own company captain to then determine the actual course–and finally the ultimate destination which he was able to do. The story will have poignancy for anyone in the Marine Corps.
The “paper sextant” story is one of the chapters of Wes Choc’s book “Just Dust.” Wes pointed out to his audience how this inconsequential act aboard ship turned into other subsequent stories–stories that would surprise most folks, unique stories that have unanticipated outcomes, and consequence.
The 35 minute presentation turned into an hour and a half once all the numerous questions from this military-oriented audience were addressed.